City news in 250 words

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER(UOM) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) have today confirmed that they have invested millions in Icelandic banks. UOM has deposited £5m and MMU has placed £10m with the crashed Icelandic bank, Landsbanki. The British Universities Finance Directors Group said earlier this week that the total sum of universities affected in the UK could be hundreds of millions.

CELTIC FANS have been urged not to travel to Manchester for the Champions League match this month if they don't already have a ticket. The warning has come following the Rangers invasion on Manchester last May for the Uefa Cup final when the city centre was left covered in litter and urine. Manchester City Council has said that fans without tickets will not get into the game and facilities will not be provided for them to watch the match elsewhere.

ITV is preparing to cash in on Coronation Street. The broadcaster is planning to launch a range of spin-off products such as Newton and Ridley beer, Rovers Return pub food and underwear by Coronation Street knicker factory Underworld. They are also considering reopening public tours of the Coronation Street set on Quay Street.

EDWIN VAN DER SAR equaled Peter Schmeichel’s 129 international caps on Saturday. United’s goalkeeping coach Eric Steele has said that replacing the Dutchman, who turns 38 at the end of the month, will be as difficult a task. He said: “Edwin has been one of the finest in the world in terms of the sweeper-keeper role that this club needs.”

Like what you see? Enter your email to sign up for our newsletters which are chock-a-block with more great reviews, news, deals and savings.

Why is it that whenever football crops up the site takes a nose dive into dreary tribalism. Manchester Confidential please, please always ignore sport - well aside from the odd occasion. Have you seen the **** that goes up on the MEN sports pages.

Johnthebrief you what? So because Celtic are all good God-fearing Catholics they always behave themselves. I've seen at least two fights in pubs started by Celtic fans after previous matches down here, one in Manchester, one in Liverpool.

David, my business has to compete to make a profit, doesn't get grants/handouts/European money/monopolies on customers, doesn't get to increase it's prices automatically without losing business, doesn't get to charge exorbitant fees enforced by its own bailiffs when it's 14 days late being paid, doesn't have the ability to halve the level of service leaving prices unchanged (fortnightly binmen?) and doesn't get paid if it fails to provide the supposed service it should. When it loses money through bad calls and incompetence it doesn't get bailed out with more taxpayers money without them being consulted, and can't change the terms on which it sells things or charges just because the workers want a pay rise. If you want to play at business, try going without pay till after Xmas, because that is the reality, not your Guardian-advertised non-jobs. If we had our way your fat pay packets would be floating in Icelandic waters....

Bullsh*t - they increase taxes, increase the burden on the public or ask for central funding. Councils are NOT businesses. They should not have £50m of savings and let their public get less than perfect services. It is disgusting

Someone should explain football to the council. The celtic crowd are nothing like the rangers one. On the subject, I see the council's promise of a "summer event" to mark ManYoo's achievements came to nothing. Obviously only a cynic would say that was always their intention and they were just hiding from public disgust when they made the promise....

All these 'public bodies' losing money to Icelandic banks is morbidly hysterical. Organisations run for the public good, that have increased their charges to their ‘customers’ exponentially, whilst also keeping their hand out to govt. coffers claiming the need for greater services blah blah blah, have actually been ‘scrouge’-ing money away to the tune of up to £50m! Its verging on fraud (even more than furious spending budgets so as not to lose them ‘next year’….. ).

....or they spent the money on a 'non-BNP', more politically correct, non-white supremacist event. In any event, the council would need to simply listen first - a skill they haven't showned since Sir Richard Lies took over

Scrounging money? Actually - it's money we've been saving quietly over time to spend on replacing worn-out buildings and keeping the old estate repaired - instead of running and borrowing the money, we've been saving up. And it's not public money and these are not public bodies, this is money these businesses (yes- businesses) have earned and have put away ready for a rainy day. Not council. Not government. Anon commentators - it's not 1970 any more.

OMG... I didn't see where Johnthebrief said the Celtic fans behave themselves! He is correct, it is a fact that Celtic fans are a lot less trouble than Rangers. Every team has some stupid fans. Apart from Man City... They're all stupid!